Walking Sticks and You.

Is a stick just a stick? Definitely not. A stick of the right height, size, and shape can become a powerful ally in our quest to reconnect with
nature.

Lemme tell ya a little story. One day while walking around my property, I found a stick. Now I have used sticks for walking before, but this one was
really special. I took it for a test drive down to the ocean, and my new stick friend and I were really hittin it off. It resonated the earth
strongly every time it touched the Earth, and I knew it would become a good friend.

A few days go by, and I am feeling ready for some adventure. My car was in the shop getting repairs at this time, so if I wanted to leave the house,
I was going to have to walk.

I had a destination in mind, and I decided to go for it and I set off on my journey.

I started my journey at sunset, as I walked the road I have driven so many times. I discovered so many new things about my area, like trees and such
along the roads. I made it up to the highway, and decided to just keep going since I had made it this far.

I walk along the road, going and going for what seemed like hours. I made it to the nearest town, and to my surprise, almost 4 hours had elapsed. A
drive of the same route would have only been 15 minutes.

At this point, I stop and get some water at the local store, and I decide to continue. I am halfway to my destination.

I keep trudging along, and now there will be no more towns. Now it is just a lonely road and me at 10:30pm at night.

Remember I live out in a jungle environment, and there are wild pigs and crazy people out here in the jungle. Both sides of me are lush rainforests
as I walk down this country road.

There were no more street lights for this part of the journey. I did have a flashlight, but I didn't really feel the need to use it that much. I
just used the walking stick to follow the road and assist me on this trek across the land.

It turned into a very spiritual experience as I walked down the road, just my stick friend and I.

In the end, I walked a total of 20 miles and 8 hours, and I made it to my friend's house where I got a much needed rest.

Now when I drive these roads that I walked, I think back to my journey across them, and it makes me so proud that I did it and perservered to the
end.

This is just the beginning of the story of walking sticks and me. More to come.

So that first story was 4 months ago. Much has happened since then. I still used my stick friend occasionally, but nothing as big as that first epic
adventure we shared.

On Christmas, I recieved a truly heartfelt gift from my father. He found a stick on our property and sanded it down and put a nice coat of varnish on
it. It looked professional and I knew lots of love went into making it a christmas present. I felt so honored and walking sticks returned into my
life full force.

To pass along the energy from my old walking stick to the new one, I untied the shoestring attached to the old one and put it on the new one. It was
awesome.

Over the past month, this new stick has become a huge part of my life. I take it out with me everytime I leave the house, and I regularly go for
walks with it. Sometimes it is the stick that walks me.

Now the reason I write this thread is because I had a new experience with both of my walking sticks just a few hours ago. This idea came to me that I
should carry each stick in one hand! They were both overjoyed at this decision, and there I walked, 4 legged once again across the land. It was
profound.

My message to you is that the flora of this world wishes desperately to assist us, and they give us things that we can use for healing and spiritual
reasons. One is the walking stick. It is a friend to lean on, an ally, and a connection to Mother Earth. It is a symbol of flora and fauna, working
together and walking together across this great planet.

I like using walking stick when walking on steep cliffs,
having a third foot is amazingly useful,
when a slip can have you tumbling.
mud, snow, or loose-dirt,
always good to have support.

To make sure it's effective on steep cliffs,
I typically use sticks with a slight curve in them,
this both gives it a little suspension and is more likely to dig into the hill,
also I can hold the stick with both my hands, while still making good traction.

to make sure it can hold my weight,
I hop up and down putting as much weight as I can on the stick.
This I typically do in a safe location, or towards the high-side of the hill.

Another benefit of the slight bend,
is that when I hold it upright,
it aligns with my head.

usually stick is up to my head height,
and can be used defensively as a quarter-staff,
and for getting things in hard to reach places,
like something that floats by on the river,
or pretty rock on a high ledge.

Also I've made a bookshelf,
and a lamp-holder from sticks gathered outside.
It's amazing how knowing knots and lashings is so useful.

Of course the walking stick is also the wizard's staff,
and is great for casting circles,
and setting spells,
directing energy.

A walking stick is a great thing to have.
My old one of several years was recently
replaced by a brand new walking stick
carved by a woodworker and presented to me as a gift
by my daughter. The dog's and I walk our acreage every night
regardless of the weather and I won't go without it.
I still use the old one on ocassion to let him know
that he can never be replaced entirely. We have walked
many a mile and haved shared many experiences with nature.
Maybe it is some primitive calling from a more simpler time
that we need to hear and execute to remind us
of what travel was like before autos and horses.

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